Eindhoven, February 21st, 2024
Scinvivo, a MedTech startup based in Eindhoven set to revolutionize cancer diagnostics, has closed an investment round of €4.7 Million from Santec OIS Corporation, The NLC Health Impact fund, current shareholders, and an “Innovatiekrediet” (Innovation credit) loan of the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RvO).
Scinvivo is on a mission to make cancer diagnostics faster and more accurate, enabling the reduction of unnecessary surgeries and improving the quality of patients’ lives. They are developing an imaging platform based on a forward-looking OCT catheter to visualize the human morphological tissue structure a few mm’s deep with a high resolution. This approach fills the gap of the current image modalities, enables more precise minimal invasive surgeries, and will significantly improve the diagnosis of cancer resulting in a precise personalized treatment.
Bladder cancer is chosen as the first field for the imaging platform. The urologists who reviewed the technology see this as a likely game changer in their diagnostic routine with the potential to become the gold standard.
With this investment, Scinvivo will improve the catheter, OCT system, and software such that it can be used in the clinic and is appealing to urologists. They will perform clinical trials to prove the clinical benefits of the product, and will prepare the necessary documentation to obtain CE certification. They will also work on the go-to-market strategy, to successfully launch the OCT imaging platform on the market and make it a commercial success.
Marijn van Os, CEO of Scinvivo: “I am very pleased with this investment round. With Santec we strengthen our supply chain and get a foothold in the Japanese market. With NLCs HIF, the biggest investor in Europe for Medical start-ups, we have an investor on board who understands the specific dynamics in the medical venturing world.”
Maaike de Jong, CMO of Scinvivo: “This investment brings us a step closer to the market introduction of our OCT imaging platform. We are looking forward to a close collaboration with Santec, and to obtaining the first in vivo clinical results.”
Changho Chong CTO of Santec: “I strongly believe cancer screening with Scinvivo’s OCT technology supported by Santec’s laser will set a new milestone not just in procedure for bladder cancer but also in many other endoscopy applications.”
Lars Olthof, Investment Manager at NLC Health Ventures: “This investment will enable Scinvivo to further develop their technology and get their first clinical results. It is a vote of confidence of all parties involved, that we truly believe that this innovation has the potential to improve patient lives at scale. ”
RVO represented by Bibi van Gijzel and Iris Eefsting: “As the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (Rijksdienst voor Ondernemend Nederland ((RVO)), we are proud to announce our support for Scinvivo through the Innovation Credit program (Innovatiekrediet). This partnership exemplifies our commitment to fostering innovation with tangible benefits for the Netherlands. Scinvivo’s pioneering photonic technology holds great promise in revolutionizing early diagnosis for bladder cancer patients, potentially reducing the need for invasive surgeries and significantly impacting the healthcare system. We are excited to collaborate with Scinvivo in driving forward this transformative project, ultimately aiming to improve patient outcomes and advancing healthcare innovation in our country.”
Santec OIS Corporation
Santec is guided by a commitment to the Optical Technology that is revolutionizing the way we perceive the world and share information. Santec envisions an evolved society with photonics driving advancements in communications, life sciences, sensing and industry. Photonics has the potential to unleash unprecedented growth and it brings transformation to the way we work, connect, and relax. We call this new, enlightened and human centric information society: OPTOPIA.
NLC Health Ventures & NLC HIF
NLC Health Ventures is the leading European early-stage healthcare investor and the world’s largest venture builder in healthtech. Pain monitoring systems, ultrasound cancer detection, and light therapy for newborns: these are just some of the life-changing inventions that they have brought to those in need. With its growing team of more than 80 professionals, 4 captive funds (of which the NLC Health Impact Fund has invested in Scinvivo), and over 120 portfolio ventures built across 11 European countries, we bring science to life and make the early-stage investible.
RvO Innovation credit (Innovatiekrediet)
The Innovation credit is a loan from the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RvO). The Innovation Credit is intended for the development of innovative development projects with considerable technological risks and an excellent market perspective.
Scinvivo
Scinvivo is on a mission to make cancer diagnostics faster and more accurate, enabling the reduction of unnecessary surgeries and improving the quality of patients’ lives. Scinvivo is based in Eindhoven. www.scinvivo.com
Contact
Marijn van Os, CEO of Scinvivo, tel: +31 6 4609 3997
Maaike de Jong, CMO of Scinvivo, tel: +31 6 3605 4746